Friday, November 30, 2012

This record was initially released in 07 and shows Brandon Hudspeth already a great guitar player, coming into his own as a songwriter. He serves up some quirky licks and downright funny observations about relationships and life in general, ie: "I'm not the one to usually label, but that girl is an unstable table." This the third recording from a hard working band shows where they came from, blues, rock, countryfied boogie & even a surf tune for good measure. Give a listen and check out this band, you'll dig it the most!

In Muddy Waters' song, Deep Down in Florida, he sings about going to Gainesville "...to see some friends of mine." Gainesville is the town where Vini and the Demons came together for their debut performance on October 29, 1999. For the next two years they played the blues; from Miami's Tobacco Road to Fat Matt's Rib Shack in Atlanta. At the beginning of winter in 2001, the Demons relocated as a band to Chicago, like many of their blues heroes did before them.

The Demons vowed a sacred oath to help keep the blues thriving into the 21st century and beyond. Vini and the Demons made this commitment, in part, with the encouragement and blessing of Muddy Waters' daughter Ros, and the legendary Bo Diddley, both supporters and fans of the band.

Since their arrival in Chicago, the Demons were a feature act for two years on rotation at Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater's Reservation Blues. The Demons have played on just about every blues stage in Chicago. Vini and the Demons have shared the stage with Eddie Taylor, Jr., Little Arthur Duncan, Billy Branch and the Sons of Blues, Bo Diddley, Sharon Lewis, Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, Jimmy Burns, and many other legendary blues musicians.

With a repertoire of over 70 blues standards and original Demon songs, Vini and the Demons keep their audiences drinking, dancing, and feeling the blues the way it was meant to be experienced.

Vini and the Demons never rehearse or perform until they have had a ritual shot of Jack Daniel's in honor of Robert Johnson, and all the blues musicians who have come before them. The Demons do not play non-smoking venues!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Cuby & The Blizzards is relatively unknown to the English-speaking market but none the less the band has been famous in The Netherlands since the mid-‘60s. The early work of Cuby & The Blizzards had a beat / punk orientation but soon they settled into a blues groove. Before the band recorded their own work they backed Van Morrison in the gap between his departure from Them and the beginning of his solo career.

‘Groeten Uit Grollo’, Cuby & the Blizzards’ second album , with Harry Muskee, Eelco Gelling, Nico Schröder, and Wim Kinds, was recorded with the legendary Dutch artist Herman Brood on keyboard as a replacement for Hans Kinds because he had been drafted. Harry Muskee, founder and lead singer, sadly passed away in September 2011. ‘Groeten Uit Grollo’ is still seen as the seminal album by Cuby & The Blizzards, as The Blizzards are seen as one of the most influential Blues bands in Holland.

Muskee has sent us his last greetings, saying in one of his final songs: ‘Time is running out, getting older every day. The only thing that's left for us is hit the road and play.' (http://www.jpc.de)

Today I got an information from The Lone Crows which I want to post here for you:

Hey party people,

Since we have released the album, we have accomplished some pretty big things like getting awesome reviews and great raves. These reviews have been around the world, and we want to thank you the fans for making that possible.

Some even bigger news!

The German label World in Sound listened to our album and decided to sign us to the label. The album is going to be remastered and re-released over in Europe. If everything goes well, we'll embark on our first European tour over the summer.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Anyone who was a fan of the Keef Hartley Band in the sixties and seventies would reconize Miller Anderson as he was the lead vocalist and guitar player for Keef Hartley. He was also a member of Savoy Brown briefly (Boogie Brothers album) in the seventies. He has released a couple of solo albums since than and are all worth checking out. He has a strong voice --very original and his guitar playing is excellent. This is a live album well worth seeking out. The sound is great and the vocals and guitar solos are excellent. It is a 2cd set worth getting if you are a Keef Hartley fan and if you have any of Miller Andersons solo albums. His song writng I think is really good and it shows on all of these cds. Get them!!!!!! (J. R Sategna)

Monday, November 26, 2012

I'm No Angel was such a success that Gregg Allman wasted no time delivering its follow-up, 1988's Just Before the Bullets Fly. Essentially, the album is I'm No Angel, Pt. 2, with the same glossy mixes and straight-ahead rock & roll. This isn't a bad thing, in theory, and the execution is solid. It's just that the songs aren't there. There are a couple of moments that work -- namely, the opening punch of "Demons" and "Before the Bullets Fly" -- but most of the tunes aren't terribly memorable, and the ultra-slick production doesn't help matters. Given this tepid effort, it's little wonder that it took Allman nearly ten years to deliver a sequel.

Sounding like a psychedelic reincarnation of blues legend Bessie Smith, the blazing vocal power of Inga Rumpf sets the stage for this 1971 blues / rock blowout. Grooving through 4 intense and rather lengthy compositions that meld the fire and passion of the blues with traits of the UK progressive rock movement, Frumpy' s second LP, simply titled 2, is arguably their finest.

Somewhat detached from the freaky sounds that were materializing in the communes and basement bars that were associated with the underground Krautrock scene in their homeland of West Germany in the early seventies there is a marked American R&B tendency here. This can be largely attributed to vocalist Rumpf's affections for early female blues artists as well as the music of Elvis Presley but what really makes Frumpy 2 jive is the unremitting chemistry that flows between the individual players. Unlike some of the abstract studio jams of contemporaries such as Amon Duul II there is more consonance here and one doesn't have to be tripped out on LSD to appreciate these exuberant compositions that can be melodic, ferocious and sublime while sustaining a meaningful flow.

Solid Hammond Organ power chordings from Jean-Jacques Kravetz lay the foundation for the 4 pieces which have often been compared to UK contemporaries such as Uriah Heep and Deep Purple but have more parallels to the uniquitous organ work of Peter Hecht on Lucifer's Friend's eponymous debut. Fiery Hendrixy electric guitar flourishes from Rainer Baumann colour the four intense pieces and bond well with the Hammond substructures and are the only suggestions of Krautrock predilections. A noticeable common pattern becomes evident on the record by the beginning of side two that gives the band a two dimensional quality with Rumpf's vocals bookending the adventurous instrumental sections often joining and accenting them with effectual wordless vocalizations.

In spite of the rather straightforward playing and musicianship on two cosmic blues rave ups Take care Of Illusion and How The Gypsy Was Born ( no John McLaughlins or Rick Wakemans here ), the band's energy and execution are impeccable and atone for any lack of musical profoundness. The latter, How The Gypsy Was Born attained moderate success as a cut down single version on the German charts during the spring of '71. More musical and compositional exploration takes place on the other two pieces Good Winds and Duty which appropriately open and close the album respectively. Even more depth is created by interpolating some classical organ themes, the most notable being the Bach fugue at the conclusion of Duty which also features some groovy Hammond / guitar interplay and a blistering guitar freakout by Baumann. The album opener, Good Winds ( which should have been placed at the conclusion ) has the potential for a side long epic with it's dreamy lyrics that unite the Earth & universe with Rumpf stepping out of character with the rest of the album providing some spectral vocals on this ethereal piece that rivals anything from Annie Halsam or Sonja Kristina of British bands Renaissance and Curved Air.

A long lost classic confined to the vaults and dusty old vinyl collections prior to being resurrected by the age of the compact disc, perhaps the only qualm I have with Frumpy 2 is the track sequence and this is easily solved with the CD format. After listening to this blast from the past one can only wonder why Frumpy did not attain more international acclaim. So put the cat out, strap yourself into the ejection seat and crank this jewel from the glorious seventies to eleven. (Vibrationbaby)